Nearly 1000 people were killed in attacks on health centres worldwide over the past two years, almost 40 percent of them in Syria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

    The United Nations agency documented 594 attacks resulting in 959 deaths and 1,561 injuries in 19 countries with emergencies between January 2014 and December 2015.

    According to the report, Attacks on Health Care: Prevent, Protect, Provide, over the two-year period from January 2014 to December 2015, there were 594 reported attacks on health care that resulted in 959 deaths and 1,561 injuries in 19 countries with emergencies.

    The most disturbing challenge for health care providers during emergencies is when they themselves are the victims of attacks – real or threatened, targeted or indiscriminate, the report emphasized.

    More than half of the attacks were against health-care facilities and another quarter of the attacks were against health-care workers. Sixty-two per cent of the attacks were reported to have intentionally targeted health care, the report found.

    In a press release, WHO highlighted that it collaborates closely with others to better understand the problem, bring attention to the issue, and find solutions that can prevent attacks; protect health facilities, workers, transport and supplies; and ensure the continued provision of health care despite such attacks.

Source: QNA